AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Question
You are designing a process for your Azure DevOps project to improve traceability between work items and code changes. You need to ensure that developers can easily navigate from a work item to related commits and pull requests. Which two actions should you perform? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that a repository setting exists to automatically link work items to commits, when the linking actually depends on commit message syntax.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure branch policies to require linked work items on pull requests.
Including work item IDs in commit messages using #ID automatically links commits to work items. Enforcing linked work items on pull requests via branch policies ensures that pull requests are also linked. Together, these actions provide bidirectional traceability, allowing navigation from work items to commits and pull requests. The other options are either non-existent, manual, or misapply features.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable the 'Link work items to commits' setting in the repository options.
Why it's wrong here
There is no repository setting called 'Link work items to commits'. Azure DevOps automatically links work items to commits when the commit message contains a work item ID using the #ID syntax. This option is fictional and does not exist, so it cannot be used to improve traceability.
- ✓
Configure branch policies to require linked work items on pull requests.
Why this is correct
Enforcing linked work items on pull requests via branch policies ensures that every pull request has at least one work item linked. This creates a link between the pull request and the work item, allowing easy navigation from the work item to the pull request. It improves traceability by making the association mandatory.
- ✗
Use the Azure DevOps CLI to manually link work items to commits after each push.
Why it's wrong here
Manually linking work items to commits using the CLI is error-prone and not scalable. It requires additional steps after each push and does not provide automatic traceability. Azure DevOps already supports automatic linking via commit messages, so this manual approach is unnecessary and inefficient.
- ✗
Create a custom work item query that lists all commits without linked work items.
Why it's wrong here
A work item query cannot list commits; queries are for work items only. While you can query work items without links, it does not help link commits to work items. This option misinterprets the capabilities of queries and does not contribute to traceability between work items and code changes.
- ✓
Instruct developers to include work item IDs in commit messages using the #ID syntax.
Why this is correct
When a commit message includes a work item ID prefixed with # (e.g., #123), Azure DevOps automatically creates a link between the commit and the work item. This enables navigation from the work item to the commit and vice versa, enhancing traceability. This is a standard practice and requires no additional configuration.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Implementing Work Item Management and Agile Planning
Key term
DevOps
DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the development lifecycle and deliver high-quality software continuously.
Key term
Work item
A work item is a digital record in Azure DevOps that tracks a single unit of work, such as a task, bug, or user story, helping teams manage and monitor their progress.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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